A scarf, a hat and a Mini-Moopy

Well after some rather frustrating technical difficulties involving my browser crashing when I tried to upload images, I have taken a deep breath, had a cup of tea and tried again. Fingers crossed that this works.


As promised, here are some recent FOs.




Scarf for my husband Alex using the My So-Called Scarf pattern that Jessicah recommended a while back. Alex had been asking (nagging?) me to knit him a scarf for some time. He wanted a dark colour that he could wear with his suit to work and it had to be soft because he hates scratchy wool. It’s knit in Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra (merino/silk/­cashmere) in Clinker (dark blue). I love the almost herringbone look of the pattern, which, though it looks complex, is only a two row pattern, so I memorised it pretty quickly. It knit up reasonably fast on big-ish needles, but it took almost twice as long to dry when I blocked it (memo to self – do not block knitted items in the coldest room in the house). I have seen this scarf around blog-land knitted in variegated wool and I like the way that the stitch shows up the different colours. I’m now on the hunt for the perfect wool to knit a more colourful version for myself for next winter.


Baby hat from The Happy Hooker book. I’ve recently taught myself to crochet from this book and this hat was my first attempt at something other than a practice square. I’d do a few things differently next time, like use the recommended wool (this was some thrifted stuff that was lying in my stash) and check my gauge, but overall as a first crochet item I was pretty happy with it. It’s destined for a friend who is pregnant and due later this year. I definitely need more practice with crochet to get really confident at it (I still refer to the stitch diagrams as I go) but I do like how quickly you can finish a piece if you use tall stitches.


Mini-Moopy bunny from a Nest Studio pattern. I set out to make this as a gift, but I loved it so much I had to keep it for me. Our cat has since decided it is hers and will jump up onto the bookshelf, knock the Moopy to the floor and bat it around. Next time I’ll enlarge the pattern (it does live up to the “mini” in the name), but I think these would make a great baby gift along with a matching appliquéd onesie or blanket. I had a lot of fun rummaging through my fabric stash picking out fabrics.

Sorting through my photos to find some to post, I’ve realised that my photography of finished objects still needs a bit of work. If any of you have tips for photographing your work to look its best I’d love to hear them.